Reclining-chair



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M. S. CURTISS.

y RBGLINING CHAIR'. N0. 280.356.

Patented July 3, 1883.

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M. S. CURTISS.

B.}1G.ININGr.r CHAIR. No. 280,356. Patented July 3,1883.

i wardly.

recumbent attitude.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARSHALL S. CURTISS, OF PULLMAN, ILLINOIS.

RECLlNlNe-CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 280,356, dated July 3, 188.3.

Application filed March 3, 1883. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, MARSHALL S. Cuiarrss,

" chairs, and to construct an exceedingly simple,

durable, cheap, and serviceable reclining-chair for railroad, household, or other purposes, which, by a natural and easy movement of the body of its occupant either back or forward, can be operated so as to lower or raise the back at will and bring it into any desired inclined position, in which condition it will be balanced and retained by either the distrib-- uted weight of the occupant when at rest or by the distribution of the weight of its own members when not occupied. rIhese objects I attain by the construction of chair hereinafter fully described, and illustrated in the annexed drawings, in whichv Figure l represents in perspective a reclining-chair constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section with the back lowered or tilted rear- Fig. 3 isa like view with a some- What modified arrangement of swinging sup` ports for the arm-rests. Referring by letter to the annexeddrawings, A indicates the tilting-chair back, which is supported upon abase, B, to which it is pivoted or hinged, the connection herein shown between the back and base being made by means of ordinary hinges. The back is also hinged to or iiexibly connected with the seat C, whereby the back is capable of being` tilted backward from its usual upright position to such angle as may'be preferred by an occupant of the chair desiring to assume an inclined or independently of the base B, and is supported by or suspended from""the same in such manner that when pressure is exerted laterally is to dispense The seat is constructed against the back, so as to tilt it down rearwardly, a simultaneous upward movement will be given to the seat, and conversely, when sufficient pressure is exerted downwardly upon the seat, so as to lower it and overcome the weight of and resistance against the back, the

latter will be raised to or toward its upright or normal position. The arm-rests D are pivoted at their rear ends to the chair-back, and at their front ends inclined position, the armrests will be drawnA downwardly and backwardly, and when the back is raised the arm-rests will have a simultaneous upward and forward movement. When the back is tilted down to au inclined position, its lower end will be raised to a degree depending upon the distance to which said end extends below the point of support for the back. The rear end of the seat, which is fiexi-V bly connected with the lower end of the back, will consequently be raised or lowered accordingto the direction in which the back is tilted. In order, therefore, to also raise or lower the front end of the seat so as to cause both ends of the seat to move alike, and thereby maintain the seat at all times in a substantially horizontal position, I construct the supports one of the arm-rests, and a short arm, e', which is pivotally connected with the seat at or near the front of 'the latter.

In Figs. I and 2 these bent arms or levers, which constitute link-connections between the arm-rests and the base, are pivoted at their bends to the base B, and have their short arms, which are connected with the seat, extended forward; but the same result can be attained by pivoting-the bent levers at their bends to the seat and extending their short arms rearwardly and pivoting the same to the base, as

IOO

illustrated in Fig. 3. This last arrangement may in some cases be preferable, since the short arms of the levers can thereby be interposed between the sides of the seat and the base, al-

though by setting the levers farther back or extending the base forward the same result will be practically attained. In either instance, however, when the chair-back is tilted rearwardly, the levers will be vibrated by reason of their connection with the arm-rests, and hence the forward part of the chair-seat will be raised correspondingly lwith the upward movement of its rear end, and when the seat is depressed the back will be raised both by reason of its direct connection with the seat and through the medium ofthe arm-rests and bent leverswhich constitute jointed connections between the seat and the back.

The back and scat frames can be covered y,with one or separate pieces of cloth, leather,

'have constructed the back with a substantially rectangular frame having auxiliary side bars, F, which are rigidly secured at the top to the side bars, a, of the main frame, and at their lower ends hinged to the base. The arm-rests are in this instance hinged or pivoted to the bars a, and the bars c and F are arranged so as to diverge at their lower ends, in order to throw the lower portion of the upholstered or covered part of the backframe forward. These side bars, c, also extend somewhat below the points of support of the outer hinged bars, F, so that the connection between the back and the seat can be made below the axis about which the back turns, and thereby sufficient leverage obtained when the seat is depressed so as to raise the back.

The base B can be constructed either as shown or in any convenient or suitable way, the form and disposition of the legs or supports and rounds being essentially a matter of taste with the manufacturer.

The swinging supports for thearm-rests can be made of metal and incased by a covering of wood or other material; or-they can be made of metal alone and polished, nickel-plated, or otherwise treated, as preferred.

A chair constructed as hereinbefore described can be readily converted at the will of the occupant from an upright-back into a recliningback chair, or the reverse, as desired.

By leaning against and pressing backward upon the chair-back, so as to throw to some extent the weight of the body to the rear, theback can be inclined, and by slightly throwing the weight forward upon the seat the back can be raised, since the seat and back are so balanced and the weight ofthe occupant so distributed that but little exertion will be necessary to raise the back from an inclined to an upright position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat.-

ent, is-

l. The combination of a supporting-base, a baclefraine hinged thereto, va bacl; separate from said back-frame, but connected to the upper part of the same, a seat iiexibly connected with said back, and devices, substantially as described, connecting the seat with the supporting base and back, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the supportingbase and aback-frame hinged thereto, of aback separate from the baclcframe, but connected with the upper part of the same, aseat flexibly connected to the back, the arm-rests, and the bell-crank levers connecting said arm-rests with the base and scat, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a reclining-chair, of a supporting-base, a back-frame hinged to the base, a back separate from theback-frame, but connected tothe upper part of the same, a seat and arms flexibly connected to said back, and swinging bent levers pivoted centrally to the base, one end being pivoted to the armrests and the other end to the seat, substantially as described.

MARSHALL S. CURTISS.

Witnesses JNO. G. ELLIOTT, XV. W. ELLIOTT.y 

